Does your car have a bad battery?
Are you torn between attempting to jump the car yourself and contacting a professional?
Jumpstarting a car yourself is actually not difficult, there are some risks involved but provided you follow the recommended connecting and disconnecting sequence, you can avoid exploding batteries and damaged electrical batteries.
In this post, I cover:
- how you can safely jump your car’s battery yourself,
- the risks involved in jumping a car and how you can avoid them,
plus the recommended order of connecting and disconnecting the jumper cables to jump your car safely.
You may want to check out: Can you Jump a Car with an Extension Cord?
Can you Jump a Car by Yourself?
Yes, you can jump-start a car yourself – you do not need to take your car to an Autozone. To safely jump-start your car, all you need is :
- a well-sized set of jumper cables,
- a car with a working battery,
and then follow the recommended sequence for connecting and disconnecting the battery cables to minimize the risk of exploding batteries.
You may also want to check out this post: Do cars come with Jumper Cables?
How to Jump a Car Yourself (3 Methods)
There are at least 3 ways you can jumpstart your car yourself.
Some are more straightforward, less elaborate, and risky than others but there is an option for everyone.
Method 1. Use a charged jump-starter box or pack. This is probably the easiest way to jumpstart your car – it is convenient and quick to use.
All you need is a charged jumpstarter box that you connect to the dead car battery posts and then you start your car.
No need to stop someone to help you jumpstart your car with their car’s battery.
Method 2. Connect jumper cables from the car with the good battery to the car with a dead battery. For this one, you need a car with a working battery.
Take care to connect both batteries as follows: positive to positive, the negative post of the good car to the ground of the car with a bad battery, see steps to follow below.
Allow the battery to charge for some time, say 5 to 10 minutes.
Disconnect both jumper cables and attempt to start the car with the bad battery.
Method 3. For cars with a manual transmission, you may be able to push it down a slope, quickly enter the car, step on the clutch and engage gear 2 while releasing the clutch to get the car started. This is dangerous and not recommended!
Is it Safe to Jumpstart a Car yourself?
Yes, you can safely jump-start a car with a dead battery yourself, there are risks involved but if you follow the recommended steps carefully, you can do so without any problem.
You can use the jump starter pack or use jumper cables to connect batteries from the good battery of another car to your car’s dead battery and let it charge for some time.
Dangers in Jumpstarting a Car (+prevention tips)
There are a number of risks involved in attempting to jumpstart your car from an exploding battery, destroying your car’s alternator, and damaging your car’s computer.
If whatever reason you are not sure, get a professional to help you.
1. Exploding battery and injury to yourself. There are some cases of car batteries exploding, spewing acid and causing severe injury to the body.
This explosion is caused when the sparks from connecting the negative jumper clamp of the dead battery ignite the hydrogen gases around the battery.
You can minimize the risk of explosion by connecting the negative battery clamp away from the battery post, to the unpainted part of the car’s body under the hood.
2. Damage to the car’s alternator. If the car with a bad battery has a faulty alternator, it can drain the other car’s battery and possibly damage its alternator in the process of attempting to start the car with the bad battery.
This usually happens when the car with the good battery has its engine running.
You can avoid this danger by understanding the history of the car with the dead battery – Does the car have a history of charging problems, like a bad alternator?
If so, have it checked by a professional instead of attempting to jumpstart it yourself.
3. Damage to the car’s electrical system from connecting the jumper cables the wrong way. Connecting your jumper cables the wrong way risks subjecting your car’s electrical system to voltages greater than the recommended 12V.
This is bad for your car’s electrical system.
The positive terminal of the good battery should be connected to the positive post of the dead battery.
The negative terminal of the good battery should be connected to the body of the car with a dead battery.
Interchanging them is bad for the car’s electrical system.
Follow the recommended guidelines (below) when making and removing connections to either battery to minimize the risk of an exploding battery and damage to your car’s electronics.
- Switch off any car accessories – headlights, indicators that may still be on in the car with the dead battery
- Make sure the bodies of the two cars are not touching so that the electrical connections between the two cars are ONLY through the jumper cables.
- Start the engine of the car with the good battery
Correct Order of Connecting Jumper cables
1. For the car with the good battery, first, connect the red (positive) clamp of the jumper cable to the positive battery terminal (marked with a + sign).
2. Connect the second red clamp of the jumper cable to the positive battery post of the dead battery (marked with a + sign)
3. Next, connect the black clamp to the negative post (marked – sign) of the good battery.
4. Finally, connect the second black clamp of the jumper cable to the exposed, unpainted part (inside the hood) of the car with the dead battery.
Allow the dead battery to charge for about 5-10 minutes and then attempt to start the car with the dead battery.
The car engine may not start at that first attempt.
Allow for another 5-10 minutes and try to start again. It should start normally at the second attempt.
Let the car engine of the car with the dead battery run for a few minutes and then disconnect the jumper cables in this order.
Correct Order of Disconnecting Jumper cables
This should be done in the reverse order of the connection sequence
1. First, disconnect the black clamp of the jumper cable from the exposed, unpainted part (inside the hood) of the car with the dead battery.
2. Next, disconnect the black clamp from the negative post (marked – sign) of the good battery.
3. Then disconnect the red clamp of the jumper cable from the positive battery post of the dead battery (marked with a + sign)
4. Lastly, disconnect the red (positive) clamp of the jumper cable from the positive battery terminal (marked with a + sign) of the good battery.
5. Drive the car which had a drained battery for about 15-30 min to top up its charge level.
Final Thoughts
You can jump a car with a dead battery safely yourself provided you use a set of well-sized jumper cables that can handle your car’s starting current and follow the recommended sequence for connecting the jumper cables.
Connecting the cables the wrong way – interchanging them or not following the recommended connection sequence can result in an exploding battery and damage to your car’s electrical system.
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